Gujarat launches its own UID project

GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat government has launched a separate unique identity (UID) project for every individual residing in the state, finding that the Government of India`s UID project under top I-T honcho Nandan Nilekani is still largely on paper.

Under this project, every individual living in Gujarat will have a separate UID number, which will feature several details-whether the person is below poverty line (BPL) or above poverty line (APL), and whether he pays income tax, permanent address, property ownership, including land, houses and vehicles owned, and whether he is entitled to reservation benefit.

Two government departments - state civil supplies and revenue - are working overtime to make the state`s own UID project a big success. While the civil supplies department is already in the process of completing a database required for getting essential commodities from the ration shop, the revenue department will add rest of the details related to income and property. "A pilot project has already been implemented in Moria village of Banakantha district", said state civil supplies secretary Raj Kumar, adding, "Now, we plan to implement it in one village in every taluka." Thereafter, the project will move to the urban areas.

To cost Rs 15 crore to the state coffers, a major feature of the state`s UID is that it will be activated only when the biometric impression is put to the attached computer. "All information will be contained in a simple bar code, which will be read by a hand-held scanner on a designated computer on getting the biometric detail," Kumar said, adding, "We have begun by sticking the bar code on ration cards. The e-gram centres in 13,000 villages will take biometric impressions to read the barcoded information. Based on the information, each individual will be entitled to government schemes, including ration from public distribution shops."

"The revenue department will pick up the job of infusing more information once the civil supplies department finishes work of bar-coded ration cards," a senior department bureaucrat said, adding, "We plan to hire agencies to gather data. We expect the work will start in June and will be completed by early next year." The Union government`s National Informatics Centre (NIC) has already prepared software for the whole project.